Why I started DE Gameday high school sports show

Nairavoice | Oct 23, 2026 5h ago 246 0 3 min read

Why I started DE Gameday high school sports show

I love to sit down with a freshly brewed cup of tea and dive into a book or a feature story.

But as a high school sports reporter traversing the state multiple times per week, those quiet moments often are fleeting in the thick of the fall sports season.

I have much more idle time in the car. My media diet reflects that: Podcasts and shows sit in the bottom of my food pyramid with long-form written stories somewhere at the top.

So, this fall I decided to take on the challenge of building something completely new for Delaware Online/The News Journal for people like me. Maybe you have a few minutes to throw on YouTube while you cook dinner. Maybe you need a soundtrack for your laundry folding and dishwasher loading.

If so, I’d like to introduce you to DE Gameday, a weekly show highlighting the top high school athletes and stories across the state. It is available on delawareonline.com and for free on the Delaware Online YouTube channel.

I see what I created as the modern feature story. What you’ll see are the kinds of conversations reporters have with subjects they are going to profile. But instead of getting their answers refracted through the framing of a story, you’ll get the whole thing. My hope is it helps Delaware high school sports fans feel more connected to their community.

HOLVECK COLUMN:Reporter shares approach to high school sports social media coverage

So far, I have talked with Tatnall junior cross-country runner Krissa Woods about what it is like watching her older sister Kayla compete with the nation’s best jumpers. Tower Hill senior Sydney Fischer told me about how her team’s competitive volleyball practices have helped prime them for their recent run of dominance.

Former Smyrna and University of Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson offered scouting reports on many of the top high school passers in the state. Newark Charter senior cross-country runner Timothy Claessens shared a personal reflection when I asked him what keeps him coming back to running.

“It gives me the opportunity to kind of just unconsciously think through things and also move my body while I’m at it and just feel good,” he said. “You don’t have to be worrying about other things that are going on, whether it’s school or your life or anything like that because you’re there to run. You can think about that stuff and kind of just process it. But at the same time, there’s nothing you can do about it in that moment. So, it’s kind of just relaxing in terms of not having to be exactly present.”

I handle every aspect of the production from guest booking to post-production editing. It is the most difficult project I have undertaken since joining The News Journal in 2019 and the sports staff of The News Journal in 2023 in terms of the energy and diversity of skills required.